JNC Blog Recap 02.17.2018-02.19.2018

The JNC Blog has been up and running over the holiday weekend

The Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) Blog has been up and running over the holiday weekend, and the JNC thanks everyone for the engaging questions. We are ultimately endeavoring to answer new questions on the blog within 24 hours of submission, but during this initial period we’re asking for your patience. The JNC is running a little behind on our response time, and we’re also waiting to answer several questions until after we’ve had an opportunity to consult with our resources at AFA headquarters tomorrow.

Q&A Only on the JNC Blog

Please note that in order to facilitate clear communication, the JNC will post only questions and answers on the blog. Opinions and/or comments included in questions will be edited to distill to the basic question(s). Duplicative questions may be condensed into a composite question in order to streamline the posts.

The roadshow schedule may be found on the Merger TAs & Info page along with other TA-related resources. Any pre-merger Alaska Airlines (pmAS) or pre-merger Virgin America (pmVX) FAs are welcome to attend any and all sessions. Please be aware that only AFA members in good standing may vote on the TA, so it is extremely important that pmAS FAs are current on their dues and pmVX FAs have completed an AFA membership application prior to the vote.

Comments

Question about the PPP. When will the combined 8 months /$1100 be paid out? Can you fly the combined requirement of additional 40 in Jan-Feb to qualify?

Because of the issues we now have with Payroll, I am concerned it will be up to the f/as to ATTEMPT to keep track of this even though we do not have access to our flying schedules past 3 months in Crew Access.

Is there something planned to allow us to access what we have flown 4 plus months in the past?

The combined 8 months’ $1100 will be paid on 12/20. Yes, you may fly all of the extra 40.0 TFP in January-February as long as your total TFP for the block of 8 exceeds the combined PBS bid equivalent TFP for the block of 8 by 40 TFP. More info can be found in the JNC blog post “Productivity Premium Program (PPP) [JCBA]“.

Agreed that the payroll issues continue to be extremely concerning. Although improving the JCTE ‘look-back’ period is “on the list,” being able to look back many months into the past is realistically not on the list. Flight Attendants can get into the habit of printing out their schedules prior to the data rolling off. That information can continue to be reconciled against the Flight Crew Pay Sheets and the actual paycheck. Although this is not ideal, it is workable. AFA will continue to push for improvements to JCTE and the payroll system & processes.

Why do legacy Virgin America flight attendants from the original cadre class keep their pay step and the internal transfers to inflight are frozen under the red circle clause? Also, why are those flight attendants that originally were hired to other departments early on that transferred to inflight at a time when company seniority was used as their competitive bidding date? The flight attendant years don’t match their competitive bidding dates or pay steps. Why do certain transfers to inflight remain frozen?

L-VX FAs from the cadre class have been receiving pay based on their Company Seniority date (just like any other internal transfer) ever since AFA and management agreed to the interim pay rates in April 2017. Cadre will experience the same “red circled” pay rate application as any other internal transfer to VX Inflight under the JCBA LOA VX “Red Circled” Pay Rates.

However, competitive bidding seniority is a completely different application. The Seniority Merger Integration Committee (SMIC) will merge the lists together using a fair and equitable application codified in Section X [Merger Policy…] of the AFA Constitution & Bylaws. One of the central tenets of the Merger Policy is that no adjustment to relative seniority may occur with respect to others on one’s pre-merger carrier seniority list. On a go-forward basis, any supervisory/management personnel holding FAA Flight Attendant certification will be subject to limitations on seniority accrual pursuant to §6.E.1 of the JCBA.

Specific questions about competitive bidding seniority integration should be directed to the SMIC: seniority@afacwa.org.

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